The invention relates to an apparatus for the storage and transport of an elongate endless tape, comprising a storage bin in which at least a part of the tape is stored as a package of tape loops. The bin comprises a front main wall and a rear main wall which guide the edges of the tape, two narrow sidewalls and an entrance wall at one side and an exit wall at the other side of the bin. The entrance wall has an entrance slot for the tape, near which entrance slot outlets of first pneumatic pressure means terminate to assist the supply of tape through the entrance slot by means of fluid jets. The exit wall has an exit slot for the tape, near which exit slot outlets of second pneumatic pressure means terminate to assist the exit of the tape through the exit slot by means of fluid jets. At least one of the main walls of the bin has discharge means for the discharge of fluid from the bin, which discharge means terminate in the main wall at a distance from the entrance wall and the exit wall. The exit wall has wall portions which extend from the narrow sidewalls of the bin towards the exit slot in a V-shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,198 discloses such an apparatus in which the storage bin is disposed and serves for the storage and feed-through of a specific length of endless master magnetic tape to pass this master magnetic tape continuously through a copying apparatus arranged externally of the storage bin. Thus, by means of the copying apparatus the master magnetic tape is copied on a multitude of duplicate magnetic tapes in a continuous process.
In the known apparatus the fluid jets from the first pneumatic means exert a specific force on the tape near the entrance slot to hold the tape away from the bounding walls of the entrance slot and to form tape loops which are driven towards the exist wall as a package. Directly adjacent the exit slot further fluid jets from second pneumatic means exert a force on the tape to align the tape relative to this slot and hold it away from the bounding walls of the slot to enable the tape to be fed to the copying apparatus without tugging or jerking. The outlets of the second pneumatic means are situated at opposite sides of the exit slot, so that these further fluid jets are directed substantially perpendicularly to the tape which moves through the slot. In practice, the further fluid jets therefore cannot adequately prevent tape loops from reaching the exit slot and moving through this slot, so that the tape transport at the exit slot may still exhibit flutter, which has a negative influence on the quality of the copying process. This effect increases as the tape is fed out of the bin at a higher speed.
If this known apparatus is arranged with a downward inclination towards the exit wall, this arrangement has the advantage that the package of tape loops moved more easily towards the exit wall under the influence of gravity, but conversely a pack of tape loops tends to pile up near the exit slot, which is liable to give rise to jerking or tugging of the tape at the exit slot.
Moreover, it is found in practice that when the package of tape loops is pushed towards the exit wall the tape edges, with which the tape rests on the lower main wall of the bin, are susceptible to damage. Irregular movement of the tape as it is fed through the exit slot, the tape generally still having the form of loops, is also likely to cause damage to the tape. In practice, this effect is even more pronounced as the tape is fed out of the bin at higher speeds. As a result of such damage it is found that in practice the comparatively expensive master tape enables only a limited number of copies to be made, after which the master tape must be replaced and the copying process has to be interrupted. The risk of the damage also limits the exit speed of the tape from the bin and hence the cycling speed of the tape and the cycle time in the copying process.